 Chile
Chile
Prayer Coordinator
Karen Wright
kwright@samregion.com
Chile's
Team Websites
Full country name:
Republic of Chile
Area: 748,800 sq km
Population: 15.5 million
Capital City: Santiago
(pop 5,000,000)
People: 95% European descent
& mestizo, 5% Indian
Language: Spanish, Rapanui,
Aymara
Religion: 89% Roman Catholic,
10% Protestant, less than 1% Jewish
Government: republic
Facts for the Traveler
Visas: Citizens of the
USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and
most Western European countries do not require
a visa although US citizens do pay a 100.00
levy (cash only). Canadians pay a 55.00
levy and Australians 34.00, while there
is no levy for EU or New Zealand residents.
A 90-day entry permit, renewable for another
90 days, is received on entering the country.
Time Zone: GMT/UTC -4
Dialling Code: 56
Electricity: 220V ,50Hz
Weights & measures:
Metric
Culture
Chile's European heritage is pervasive,
meaning that Western travelers here are
less conspicuous than in neighboring Peru
and Bolivia. For centuries, the Paris education
of many Chilean intellectuals influenced
the country's art, music and architecture.
Important art galleries, museums and a thriving
theater scene are the result. The country's
art, literature and music have been influential
internationally. Chile has spawned the Nobel
Prize-winning poets Gabriela Mistral and
Pablo Neruda and, until the military coup
of 1973, its cinema was among the most experimental
in Latin America. Folk music has been an
especially important outlet for the country's
oppressed, and was frequently performed
overseas by exiles during Pinochet's reign.
Over 90% of the population is Roman Catholic,
though evangelical Protestantism is becoming
increasingly popular. The country's Catholic
architecture is impressive and ubiquitous,
from grandiose colonial churches to roadside
shrines, some of which are extraordinary
manifestations of folk art. Spanish is Chile's
official language, though a handful of native
languages are still spoken. In the north,
there are more than 20,000 speakers of Aymara,
and in the south there are perhaps half
a million speakers of Mapuche. The most
intriguing linguistic minority is the 2000-plus
speakers of Rapa Nui, the Polynesian language
of most of Easter Island's population.
Chile's cuisine reflects the country's topographical
variety, and features seafood, beef, fresh
fruit and vegetables. Empanadas are large
turnover snacks with a variety of fillings;
humitas are corn tamales; and there are
a variety of potato and flour-based breads.
Chile's biggest standard meal is lomo a
lo pobre - an enormous slab of beef topped
with two fried eggs and buried in chips.
The parillada, which will appall vegetarians
and heart specialists, is a mixed grill
including such delicacies as intestines,
udders and blood sausages. Curanto, one
of the nation's finest dishes, is an all-encompassing,
hearty stew of fish, shellfish, chicken,
pork, lamb, beef and potato.
Environment
Making up the left-hand side of South America's
tapering tail, Chile's lean strip has been
described by author Benjamín Subercaseaux
as an extravaganza of 'crazy geography'.
It extends some 4300km (2666mi) from the
desert north to the glacial south, is bordered
by the Pacific Ocean on the west and shuttered
by the Andes on the east. Chile shares most
of its extensive eastern border with Argentina,
and borders Peru and Bolivia in the north.
Rarely extending beyond 200km (124mi) in
width, Chile makes up for longitudinal mincing
by rising rapidly from sea level to 6000m
(19,680ft) while the country's latitudinal
extremes give it a formidable array of landscapes.
Snow-capped volcanoes plunge to river canyons;
the Great North, where some weather stations
have never recorded rainfall, is counterpoint
to storm and snow-prone Patagonia; and Chile's
razored and sculpted coastline has endowed
it with beaches and bays perfect for fishing
and swimming.
Chile also lays claim to the offshore territories
of Easter Island (3700km/2300mi west), Juan
Fernández (700km/434mi west) and
half of the southern island of Tierra del
Fuego (which it shares with Argentina).
The variety of habitat supports distinctive
flora and fauna, which are protected by
an extensive system of national parks -
one of the country's major drawcards for
visitors. In the parks, animals such as
the endangered vicuña (a wild relative
of the alpaca), the Patagonian guanaco (a
wild relative of the Andean llama), flamingos,
pelicans, penguins, otters and sea lions
do the food chain thing. Chilean plant life
includes stands of araucaria (the monkey-puzzle
tree), cypress and rare alerce trees (similar
to the giant redwoods of California). Outside
protected areas, extensive logging denudes
the landscape at an alarming and increasing
rate.
Chile's climate is as varied as its terrain,
with arid but surprisingly temperate areas
in the north, a heartland which enjoys a
Mediterranean climate, and the wind, rain
and snow-battered lands of Chilean Patagonia
and Tierra del Fuego in the south. The rainy
season in the heartland is from May to August
when temperatures are cooler, getting down
to an average maximum temperature of 10°C
(50°F) in July. January's average is
28°C (82°F). Chilean Patagonia and
Tierra del Fuego have summer averages of
just 11°C (52°F) but if you think
that's manageable, muff up and get ready
for the wind chill.
Teams
in Chile
Click on links below to get more
information from our Teams in Chile
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